Brent hits $35 as Russian Federation says Saudis will cut output

Non-OPEC Russia said that this week it could cooperate with OPEC on production curbs, something it had been refusing to do for 15 years since the ill-fated agreement with OPEC in 2001.

Russian officials have decided they should talk to Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries about output curbs to bolster oil prices, the head of Russia’s pipeline monopoly said. One Gulf member said de facto leader Saudi Arabia had no proposal to trim production by 5 per cent, after Interfax reported the country had suggested such a cut at previous Opec meetings, citing Mr. Novak.

A turnaround in crude oil price would be welcomed by oil-producing countries where the price collapse has caused budget reduction and political turmoil with some nations forced to devalue their currencies.

“Indeed, these parameters were proposed, to cut production by each country by up to 5 percent“, Novak said.

Although no firm date has been set for formal talks, bilateral discussions already have taken place with Qatar playing an active role, sources close to talks have told Breakingviews. The International Energy Agency warned this month that further declines in oil prices are possible as the world risks “drowning in oversupply”, and demand fades amid slowing growth in China.

These price moves in turn fueled expectations for even greater volatility going forward, as captured by the 35 percent climb in implied volatility since the beginning of the year.